Mercedes-Benz can be Not Giving Up on Diesel Engines

Do diesel cars have a long-term future? in which depends which senior auto executive you back into a corner along with also ask the question to. You’ll get some radically different answers suggesting the future can be being viewed through a particularly opaque mirror. Volvo has previously told us in which in which sees compression ignition’s days as being numbered, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reckons in which diesel will die out even in Europe. yet based on a conversation at the Detroit auto show with Mercedes R&D chief Ola Källenius, in which’s clear in which Mercedes thinks diesels will be around for a long while yet.

There’s a yet, though: Diesel-engined cars are likely to find themselves increasingly limited to their European heartland. “I think in which does have a relevant place, yet the market for diesel can be in Europe,” he told us. “As we are proving with the brand-new-generation diesel engine in which we’ve put into the E-class, we will develop even more innovative engines in which are very lean as far as emissions along with also fuel economy are concerned.”

Europe’s insistence in which automakers continue to dramatically reduce their types’ CO2 emissions remains the biggest factor driving future diesel developments. Put simply, in which’s not possible for larger gasoline engines to get close to the tighter targets without substantial—along with also costly—hybrid assistance.

“Diesel does have a 15 to 20 percent advantage over a gasoline engine on CO2, depending on your driving profile,” Källenius said. “inside European context of the 2020 standards, I think in which’s crucial we continue to develop This particular technology.”

The standards he references mandate a fleet average of no more than 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, equivalent to around 65 mpg. “The bigger trend for the longer term can be, of course, electrification as we move towards zero emissions,” Källenius added, “yet we will have a longer period of crossover.”

Källenius said in which he doesn’t anticipate any substantial change in European diesel demand inside short term, saying: “In Europe, our take rate can be pretty much stable.” So there will continue to be some sweet, torque-rich Mercedes diesel types inside future, yet you might well have to cross the Atlantic to experience them.